Brittney Kilfeather likes a good challenge.
As a social worker for the state of Connecticut, it almost couldn’t be otherwise. Tasked with finding permanent homes for some of her community’s most vulnerable children, her job is challenging on every level: emotionally, intellectually and logistically.
But the difficult aspects of her job bring out the determination and passion that make her successful at what she does.
“Brittney is the epitome of perseverance,” says Julianne Sciarappa, a co-worker at the Connecticut Department of Children and Families. “She is a firm advocate and always does what’s right by the communities we serve. … She pushes through red tape and has the difficult conversations that make real change in our line of work. And she never gives up, no matter how challenging the process.”
To Kilfeather, a member of AFSCME Local 2663 (Council 4), keeping children with their birth parents is a priority.
“I truly feel that permanency starts with keeping kids at home, whenever possible, and I pride myself on partnering with families to do that,” she says. “I’m as strong an advocate for family preservation and reunification as I am for finding permanent homes for children when those outcomes aren’t possible.”
On Aug. 18, Kilfeather celebrated an anniversary of sorts. It was the first anniversary of the formation of the Tripp family — Jen, Isaiah and Eli — in which she played a key role.
A “beautifully real and perfect for each other” trio, as the DCF called the family in a heart-warming feature on its website, their union was 18 months in the making. During that time, Kilfeather facilitated virtual and in-person meetings between the boys and their prospective adoptive mother, who lived in Maryland, and gave Tripp everything she needed to know about two resilient children who had overcome great obstacles.
“If you could clone Brittney, we would fix all the problems going on,” Tripp told the DCF in an interview. “She made the whole process super easy.”
For Kilfeather, her relationship with the boys dated back to 2019, when they were 13 and 8 years old. Their mother had passed away, and within a few years, their father died, too.
The two brothers “were two of the smartest kids I’ve ever worked with,” Kilfeather says, but they struggled emotionally. They had been in foster care but unable to find a permanent home. Today, they have one.
“There’s a part of me that misses every family that I’ve ever worked with, so I definitely thought about Isaiah and Eli around the 18th,” she says. “Their adoptive mom, and Isaiah, keep in touch with me via text, so I talk with them periodically.”
For her service to her community, Kilfeather is a winner of our union’s Never Quit Service Award. The award seeks to recognize public service workers who go above and beyond the call of duty to make their communities better.
“I always lead with my heart in everything I do,” Kilfeather says, when asked what motivates her to give so much of herself to her community. “I just feel it’s important to show up for people.”
In addition to her service as a permanency social worker for nearly eight years, Kilfeather is an instructor in the Escape Alive Survival Skills program of Jane Doe No More, a nonprofit organization that seeks to empower survivors of sexual crimes and advance their healing, and the originator of the organization’s Survivors Speak workshop.
She says her volunteer work and her public service are part of her life’s bigger picture — to help others.
“Real change happens when you see an area of need and you choose to do something about it,” Kilfeather says. “Whether that’s doing something for yourself or doing something to benefit the outcome for the people around you.”